Subaru’s venerable & versatile Forester SUV has again been named ‘Best Family 4x4 of the Year’

Subaru’s venerable and versatile Forester SUV has again been named ‘Best Family 4x4 of the Year’ by Motors North in its Highland Car of the Year Awards.

The Forester has previously fared well in these awards, claiming the same accolade in 2014. In 2013, off-roading specialist publication 4x4 Magazine also crowned the Forester as its ‘Mid-size SUV of the Year’, beating a number of key rivals to the prize.

The Forester went on sale in the UK in May 2013 and builds on the model’s reputation as a rugged, user friendly and go anywhere SUV. Compared to its predecessor, the new Forester offers more efficient performance, even better safety features and a more spacious and better appointed cabin.

Subaru’s most popular all-wheel drive model is also backed by a long and enviable reputation for reliability as well as a comprehensive five-year, 100,000-mile warranty and rock-solid safety credentials.

Of the Subaru, Motors North said: “A firm Highland favourite and previous winner in the category, the Forester is growing more refined and desirable as time passes and offers excellent value for money in a spacious, comfortable package.”

Updates for 2015

For 2015 the Forester also gets a mild makeover with further improvements to the appointments in the cabin and a new range of factory-fit sat nav and infotainment systems. The Forester will also be available for the first time with Subaru’s advanced CVT Lineartronic transmission coupled with the Boxer diesel engine.

Unusual in the segment but keeping true to its heritage, Subaru offers a petrol turbo Forester in the form of the XT Turbo and which has proved popular with Subaru buyers – equipped as it is with a 240ps 2.0-litre turbocharged direct-injection engine delivering super smooth pulling power both on and off-road. 

The Forester range is also available with Subaru’s hallmark 2.0-litre petrol and diesel Boxer engines, and all versions of the car feature Subaru’s advanced All-Wheel Drive system as standard.

Citroën's C4 Cactus wins coveted ‘Most Beautiful Interior’ prize at 30th International Automobile Festival.

• 30^th International Automobile Festival has given Citroën C4 Cactus ‘Most Beautiful Interior’ prize
• Linda Jackson, CEO of the Citroën brand, collected the prestigious award
• Original Cactus concept & C-Elysée, the winner of the 2014 FIA World Touring Car Championship, are on display at the festival until 1 February

The New Citroën C4 Cactus has scooped the ‘Most Beautiful Interior’ of the year prize at the 30^th International Automobile Festival in Paris. Linda Jackson, CEO of the Citroën brand, collected the award.

Every year, the International Automobile Festival features a display of concept cars, celebrates automotive design and pays tribute to the year’s finest automotive and artistic achievements. Prizes are awarded by a jury of experts and enthusiasts from the worlds of motorsport, architecture, fashion, design, culture and media.

The judging panel, chaired this year by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, awarded the New Citroën C4 Cactus with the ‘Most Beautiful Interior’ honour. The award goes to the production model with the most relevant design approach in terms of the harmony of shapes, materials and colours.

This accolade recognises the work of the interior design teams at Citroën. The interior of the Citroën C4 Cactus has a de-cluttered dashboard for a more comfortable cabin environment. It is this approach that won over the judges.

The interior is both stylish and functional, with special storage compartments and details, such as suitcase-style straps on the doors. The slimline, floating dashboard is topped by a large and easily accessible storage area created by transferring the front passenger airbag to the ceiling. Comfortable seats sport a sofa-inspired design, while the 7-inch touchscreen groups the majority of the car’s controls.

In addition to the judging panel, the Citroën C4 Cactus has already won over a considerable number of customers, totalling more than 42,000 orders in 2014.

The International Automobile Festival is open to the public until 1 February at the Hôtel National des Invalides, Paris. On display is the original Cactus concept car, which preceded the C4 Cactus production model, and the C-Elysée, the winner of the 2014 FIA World Touring Car Championship.

BusinessCar Awards Ford's Fiesta & S-Max two awards, Best MPV & Best Supermini 2015.

Two popular Ford models have been honoured in this year’s BusinessCar Awards – for the eighth consecutive year for the S-MAX.

The stylish and sporty Ford S-MAX tightened its grip on the award for Best Multi-Purpose Vehicle – held since 2008.  Ford Fiesta, the UK’s top-selling car, took BusinessCar’s Supermini of the Year prize.

The only awards decided by fleet managers themselves, the BusinessCar honours are highly prized within the industry and underline Ford’s popularity among fleets.

Ford S-MAX – due to be renewed this Summer – has enjoyed a remarkable run of success both in the annual BusinessCar Awards and combined fleet and retail market, reaching over 82,000 UK registrations since its 2006 debut.

Paul Barker, BusinessCar editor, said:  “Ford’s S-MAX has been a class apart since launch, bringing people-carrying practicality without boxy people-carrying looks. Though this generation is soon to be replaced by an even classier new model, it is going out with a bang and still looks great compared to rivals.”

The Ford Fiesta earned its Best Supermini honour because it is “high on quality as well as quantity”.  Paul Barker added:  “Driving enjoyment, efficiency, good running costs and clever technology all combine to make it a popular choice. Our readers – the people choosing these models for their business – have picked the Fiesta as their favourite mainstream supermini, and that’s testament to the car’s all-round ability.”

Incoming new Ford of Britain fleet director Nick Themistocleous, said:  “The seven-seat coupé that is the Ford S-MAX deserves its superb run of success in the BusinessCar Awards and its 2015 replacement will enjoy an equally positive response from readers.  Ford Fiesta adds another significant accolade to its vast collection of honours.”

Living legend former Jaguar test driver and works racer Norman Dewis receives an OBE.

• Living legend former Jaguar test driver and works racer Norman Dewis receives an OBE in Her Majesty’s New Year Honours List
• Norman Dewis OBE enjoyed a 33-year career at Jaguar and is widely regarded as Britain’s greatest test driver
• Dewis developed many of Jaguar’s most famous models, including the Le Mans-winning D-type and influential E-type
• Dewis also set a land speed record for Jaguar and competed in many races for the marque during the 1950s
• At 94 years old, Dewis still retains a close relationship with Jaguar, acting as a global ambassador and a familiar face at many key motoring events around the world today

In a career spanning 33 years of testing and developing many seminal and celebrated Jaguar cars, the exceptional achievements of legendary 94-year-old former test driver Norman Dewis have been recognised and rewarded in Her Majesty’s New Year Honours List, with Norman receiving the award of an Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Norman Dewis OBE developed no less than 25 significant Jaguar cars and is widely regarded as Britain’s greatest test driver. His automotive CV is remarkable: he developed the multiple Le Mans-winning C-type and D-type racing cars, the pioneering XK 140 and 150 sports cars, the classic 2.4/3.4 and Mk II saloons, plus the Mk VII and Mk VIIM models, the legendary E-type (including the Lightweight E-type), the XJ13 mid-engined prototype, the world-class XJ saloons, the XJ-S and the ‘XJ40’ models.

Dewis was also co-driver to the British racing hero Sir Stirling Moss in a C-type in the 1952 Mille Miglia and, in 1953, set a 172.412 mph production car speed record in a modified Jaguar XK 120 on a closed section of the Jabbeke highway, Belgium. He also drove a 190 mph works D-type in the dramatic 1955 Le Mans 24hr race and competed in the famous Goodwood Nine Hours in the 1950s.

At 94 years old, Dewis is one of the last living links to the golden era of the British motor Industry; those post-World War II years when Jaguar rebuilt itself into a champion sports car maker. 

During his 33 year career, Dewis completed more than a million test miles at an average speed of 100 mph-plus and survived high-speed crashes in the days before seatbelts, without ever breaking a single bone. He also played a vital role in developing the revolutionary Dunlop disc brake.

During 2014, Dewis spearheaded Jaguar’s 60^th anniversary celebrations for the race-winning D-type. Wherever Jaguar was during the year, Norman was present too, chatting with fans and friends, wearing his distinctive bootlace tie and cowboy boots. At the 2014 Goodwood Revival, Dewis drove one of the D-types, his speed illustrating that he hadn’t lost his touch behind the wheel. 

Of all the cars he worked on, Dewis considers the D-type to be the best. “I got that car up to 192 mph on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans,” he says. “Well, I had to pass [Karl] Kling in the Mercedes.” Jaguar’s star driver at the time, Mike Hawthorn, had such faith in Dewis that when he was asked to attend a test session and saw that Dewis was already there, asked the team manager: “Why am I here? If Norman’s satisfied with it, I’m satisfied.”

Dewis is working with Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations’ newly established Jaguar Heritage Business organisation to help showcase its capabilities and vision.  He is supporting the opening of the new Heritage workshop at Browns Lane, the extensive classic Jaguar parts offering, the launch of the new Jaguar Heritage Driving Experience in Warwickshire, and the brand-new Lightweight E-type, which he helped develop originally in the early 1960s.

John Edwards, Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations, and Chairman of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, said: “Jaguar owes a huge debt to Norman Dewis. His incredible skills have resulted in some of the finest cars this company has ever made – whether they were designed for the road or the racing circuit. The Norman Dewis of today is the same quietly confident and modest man of the 1950s – he remains a world-class Jaguar ambassador. It is fantastic to see his contribution to Jaguar, and to British engineering, recognised in Her Majesty’s New Year Honours List, with the award of an OBE.”  

IRELAND - All-New Ford Mondeo takes Fleet Car Of The Year at the InBusiness Editor’s Choice Awards in Dublin.

The All-New Ford Mondeo has been named Fleet Car of the Year 2014 at the In Business Editor’s Choice Awards in Dublin.

"We’re absolutely delighted to receive this award, particularly as our new Mondeo has only recently been launched in Ireland," said Ciaran McMahon, Chairman and Managing Director Designate of Ford Ireland. “The Ford Mondeo has been a key model in the fleet sector for many years and I think the new version will take that on to a new level.”

“For business drivers, Mondeo offers the best driving experience in the class while for fleet managers it delivers low cost of ownership, low running costs and excellent residual value,” Mr McMahon went on. “That all adds up to a car with impeccable fleet credentials, as hundreds of companies around Ireland would vouch for.”

The All-New Ford Mondeo is available as a 5-door and estate with a five year warranty from €28,995*. A range of new technology options are available including Active Park Assist, dynamic LED headlights, inflatable rear seatbelts and Ford SYNC 2 hands-free technology.

The InBusiness Editor’s Choice Awards, in association with Chambers Ireland and in its third year, recognise and honour Irish businesses with exceptional innovation and business achievements. Winners are selected based on profile of business, growth, range of services and customer care.